Flare-releasing mechanism for aircraft



Jul 23, 1929. c. N. MONTEITH ET AL FLARE RELEASING MECHANISM FORAIRCRAFT Filed Oct. 17. 1928 INVENTORS 4 fk W ATTORNEY.

Patented July 23, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES NTMONTEITH AND LOUIS S. MAR-SH, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON,ASSIGNORS T BOEING AIRPLANE COMPANY, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

FLARE-RELEASING MECHANISM FOR AIRCRAFT. s

Application filed October 17, 1928. Serial No. 313,011.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus forquickly and conveniently releasing parachute flares from aircraft in apositive manner by a hand actuated means.

Heretofore it has been necessary to carry the flare and its container onthe inside of the fuselage with a portion of the container extendingbelow the fuselage. This extension offered considerable resistance,which the appli'cants have found by actual experin'ient re duced the,speed of the plane 1.4 miles per hour. Furthermore the extensions werealways subject to becoming clogged with dirt,

dust and the like which would sometimes render the device inoperative.

' With our improved type of releasing mechanism and flare container weovercome all of these objectionable features by providing a device whichis entirely contained within the fuselage and when it is to be operatedis projected downwardly by hand pressure beyond the bottom of thefuselage, and simultaneously therewith the bottom of the container isautomatically removed, leaving the flare and its parachute free to fallby gravity into the open. 1

These and other objects will appear as our invention is more fullyhereinafter described inthe following specification, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of p 5 anairplane body, showing our improved form of flare housing and releasingmechanism within convenient reach of the pilot or operator, also showinga flare being released with its parachute.

Figure 2 is a pla view of the flare housing and the releasing mechanism.

Figure 3 is a sectional side elevation of Figure 2 taken on the line'AAof Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a rear elevation ofFigure 3,

. looking in the direction of the. arrow in Figure 3. A i

Figure 5 is a sectional plan View taken on the line B--B of Figure3.

Figure 6 is a sectional plan view taken on 5 the line.C-C of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a bottom plan view of the flare container showing aretaining cap and releasing ring in place.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings:

Reference numeral 1 indicates the fuselage of an airplane. 2 indicates apilots cockpit therein. 3 indicates the pilots seat and 4 is the floorportion thereof. 5 indicates a pair of cylindrical housings mounted tothe floor of the cockpit, and as the housings are identical, adescription of one will sufliee for both. The housing 5 which is openended as at (i is provided with a flange 7. The opposite end is formedwith a hinged coverplate 8. A pair of spring clamps 9 are secured totheside walls of the housing 5 for engagement with the cover-plate 8. 10indicates a slotted bearing secured to the top of the housing 5 andadapted to slidably support a shaft 11 which carries a pin 11 forengagement with the slotted bearing 10. To the shaft 11 is rotatablymounted a bracket 12, apertured as at 13. 14 is a bearing mounted to theinterior of the housing 5 and rotatably supporting the shaft 11. Thelowermost end of the shaft 5 is provided with a guide 15. A companionguide 16 is oppositely disposed to the guide 15 and is secured to theinner wall of the housing 5. 17 indicates a cable, one end of which issecured to the bearin 14 and its opposite end carries a bifurcated pin18. 19 indicates a flare container which is of hollow cylindricalformation and formed at one end with a removable cap 2Q which isapertured as at 21 to receive pins 22. The pins are carried by a. leafspring 23 which embraces the lowermost end of the container. Thecontainer is also apertured as at 21" to receive the pins 22. The endsof the leaf spring are formed into loops 24 as shown in Figure 7 and are.adapted to receive the bifurcated pin 18 which holds the spring in theposition shown in Figure 3. The pins 22 thus extending through aperturesin the edge of the cap 20, and the apertures 21 in the container, holdthe cap in place and the cap supports the flare proper within thecontainer. 25 indicates a guide on the containerfor the pin 18. 26 is ahook member mounted to the outer wall of the container and adapted toengage with the aperture 13 in tbe bracket 12. By this means thecontainer i sup orted within the housing 5.

A finer 27 which is riveted to, and turnable wit the shaft 11 isarranged to be moved into its dotted line position shown in Figure 3upon turning the shaft in a clock-wise direction. This puts the fingerinvposition for applying downward pressure to the container. At the sametime the pin 11 is in alignment wit-h the slot in the bearing 10 and theshaft is then free to be thrust downand its parachute as shown in Figure1-. 28

is a. spring member mounted to the underside of the cover plate 8. toexert downward pressure on the container for insuring permanentengagement of the hook 26 with the bracket 12 on the shaft. The guides15 and 16 keep the container centralized with respect to the housing 5.A handle '29 is formed on the uppermost end of the shaft 11 forconvenience in operation.

The bottom covering of the fuselage is apertured to permit dropping ofthe contain ers. These openings are provided with spring doors 30, whichare normally held closed by their springs and are readily opened. by thedownward thrust of the containers as shown in Figure 1.

l/Vhile we have shown a particular form of embodiment ofour invention weare aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggestthemselves to others skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the claims.

Having thus described our invention; what we claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is 1. A flare releasing mechanism for aircraftcomprising a housing mounted within the fuselage of an airplane, a flarecontainer supported within said housing, means slidably mounted withinsaid housing for engaging with said flare container whereby a downwardthrust of said slidably mounted means will extend said flare containerbeyond said housing andthe bottom covering of said fuselage andsimultaneously therewith release said flare.

2. A flare releasing mechanism for aircraft comprising a housing mountedwithin the operators compartment of an airplane, a shaft slidablymounted'within said housing, a flare container within said housing andcarried by said shaft, said flare container having a spring releasablebottom, and means connected to said housing for releasing said springupon a downward thrust of said shaft.

3. A flare releasing mechanism for aircraft comprising a housing mountedwithin the fuselage of said aircraft, a flare container carried withinsaid housing, means for extending said container beyond the housing andthe outside covering of said aircraft, and means for releasing saidflare simultaneously with said extension.

4. A flare releasing mechanism for aircraft comprising a housing mountedwithin the fuselage of an airplane, a hand actuated shaft slidably androtatably mounted within said housing and engaging with said shaft, thelowermost end of said flare container being provided with a springreleasable bottom, means interconnecting said releasable bottom and theinterior of said housing whereby a downward thrust of said shaft willproject the lower end of saidflare container beyond the housing and thebottom covering .of said aircraft fuselage and simultaneously therewithrelease said bottom of said container.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

CHARLES N. MONTEITH. LOUIS S. MARSH.

